Fluid decontamination is a process whereby various materials are removed to facilitate the proper disposal of the fluid. Various processing agents, comminution water, or other fluids are commonly utilized in the mining process, and these processing agents may require special disposal processes due to the presence of certain chemicals. Mining is the process of removing desired in-ground materials or minerals. Such materials may include precious metals, oil, gas, and other mined substances. By way of example, processing agents may interact with ore particles to facilitate the removal of a mineral, such as gold. After use, the processing agents, or mine tailings, may include various constituents acquired from the ore such as mercury or arsenic. Further, comminution water may include various chemicals, such as cyanide, to facilitate the comminution process. A mining operation may prefer to remove these constituents or chemicals prior to disposing of the processing agents, comminution water, or other liquids.
One traditional method for disposing of processing agents includes releasing them into the surrounding environment. However, releasing certain processing agents may pose environmental concerns. Another method includes storing the spent processing agents and transporting them to an offsite decontamination facility. Safely storing the spent processing agents involves various containers designed to prevent the agents from leaking into the surrounding environment. Further, such storage and transportation may be costly and labor intensive due to the expense of appropriate storage containers and the distances between mining operations and decontamination facilities.